Soon park security at Buhl Farm park will have a new look -- and a new name.

When Tom Ryan, director of public safety at the Hermitage park, joined the staff in July, he proposed some changes to the Buhl Farm Trustees. One of those was renaming the six-member security staff park rangers.

Ryan, who started his job July 1, is the chief park ranger, the first security chief the park has had in more than a decade, he said.

"I felt that we needed to upgrade the department," said Ryan, who was a park policeman from 1978 to 1986 and retired as a Sharon firefighter in May 2000 after 25 years. "Park ranger is a more positive image ... the trustees were very receptive to the new ideas."

The basic job description remains the same, but soon the park rangers will be decked out in green uniforms, with new badges and new patches. On Nov. 15, security vehicles received new decals, which read "Park Ranger."

Park security now wear blue uniforms, but the new green uniforms should be arriving in about two weeks, Ryan said.

The new patches feature the park's Casino, because, according to Ryan, "The Casino is the focal point of the park."

Although the park rangers will be performing the same duties as they did before the title change, they will attend a training update on Dec. 15 with other local police.

One of the projects the park rangers will be working on soon is establishing a "No feeding" of the geese and ducks policy because the geese population has grown.

A public meeting will be scheduled soon to inform residents of the "No feeding" policy. Although the geese are getting out of hand, Ryan said his No. 1 concern is safety.

You can e-mail Herald Staff Writer Erin Remai at eremai@sharon-herald.com